ISF Calibration

[admin_exported]

All

Havin purchased my shiny new Panasnoic 50V20 and upgraded my Surround reciever to the Onkyo 808 and added the B&W 684 speakers to my surround sound setup i am seriously contemplating getting both my display and audio calibrated.

Is this likely to be a huge improvement in both sound and vision or would it be a waste of money? (quoted £350 for both audio and video calibration)

 

[Frank Harvey]

I feel it is worth it for audio, as a system can sound completely different when it's been properly calibrated. As for picture, it may dig out a little more detail in darker areas, and colours will be more accurate, but I find people like to set picture how they want it to be. Some people like a colourful picture, some like it bright, some dark. ISF calibrates to a single standard, so won't suit everyone. Also, movies tend to vary in their picture, so even if the ISF calibration accurate, it doesn't mean all films will look perfect - only those that have been properly mastered.

Having said that, you can store the ISF calibrated settings along with your own settings and just choose between them for each individual film.

 

[theo12]

Hi there Gavin101,

How did the calibration go, did you go for it? Could you post the difference you found both in terms of picture and sound?

Interested to know what your feelings are in regards value for money.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Theo12

I did go for the calibration in the end i am really happy with the results, i can't go into technical data as i would not have a clue where to start and would sound like an idiot even trying, i can give you my thoughts though.

Firstly he started with the picture and gauged how the picture looked then plugged in his equipment and started tweaking; he was pleasantly surpised by how well calibrated the V20 is out of the box but he did make adjustments to get the correct colour balance etc and it looks stunning now. Sadly it does highlight now where they may be an issue with my bluray player not displaying colours perfectly etc but i am sure a future purchase of the Oppo will resolve that.

Sound wise he had a fairly easy time of it as my sound was good but some of the explosions etc were lost and some sounds were not quite correctly placed, after running the Audessey calibration and making a few tweaks he had the sound spot on.

in regards to the sound i could have done most of what he did if i knew 100% what i was doing but besides getting it done actually watching and taking in what was going on has helpded me for future reference so it was almost like a mini training session which is priceless.

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

Gavin101,

That is without doubt money well spent on your new TV. You are now in that position where you know that your TV set is performing at it's absolute best!

A TV set like yours certainly deserves this treatment.

Gel - please take note and stop wallowing and just get on with it. You will be a happy bunny afterwards.

Ronald

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Ronald Archiebald:

Gavin101,

That is without doubt money well spent on your new TV. You are now in that position where you know that your TV set is performing at it's absolute best!

A TV set like yours certainly deserves this treatment.

Gel - please take note and stop wallowing and just get on with it. You will be a happy bunny afterwards.

Ronald

Don't worry Ronald help is on its way

 

[theo12]

Thanks Gavin101

Just one last thing, did you feel it was value for money? Did you get a "performance per pound" upgrade?

Any chance of you posting pics of the set up, the list looks well lush.

Thanks

Theo12

 

[TKratz]

Calibration is worth the money in my opinion. I did it on my TV as well and was absolutely stunned by the result.
Panasonic V20 is not the most obvious case though. As already mentioned the settings out of the box is excellent and very accurate on the THX profile.

You will gain far more calibrating a Philips or Samsung TV.

And then I will have to disagree on the point that everyone has their own preference for the picture. This is plain rubbish in my opinion. Let me give you an example. How often are people complaining about the picture in the cinemas? Could be nice to crank up the colours etc.?
Well, I have never heard it from anyone and the reason is straight forward. The picture is calibrated and shows the correct picture, so there is no need!

Why is it people want to mess this up at home?

 

[theo12]

TKratz,

Thanks for your view, I am sold on calibration as the LG I am buying this week will no doubt benefit from it.

Your point about people's picture preference is an interesting one. I believe that using as little as possible in terms of settings is the best way. Extreme use of settings usually ends up with incorrect everything and you can lose sight of what the picture should look like because of the biases "tweaking" can bring in. Blu ray in particular can be left alone as it is already a very high standard.

So in conclusion, once I have had my TV calibrated I will not be adjusting the settings, or why have calibration done at all.

 

[TKratz]

theo12, you make some good points, and I fully agree

Once calibrated you shouldn't adjust the settings. As you said, why calibrate then if you do?

May I ask which LG you are getting?

 

[Anonymous]

Theo12

Its a difficult question to answer regarding pound for pound value as some people would expect you to be able to physically interact with everything on screen and smell the fresh cut grass that is displayed for the price of £350 on top of what ever they have paid for their set.

My personal opinion is yes it was worth every penny, the picture looked stunning anyway but I can see improvements in black levels and colour balance and as has been mentioned just knowing that i am getting the best picture possible from my set is a nice feeling and certainly takes away the urge to keep tweaking just in case i can improve the picture in anyway.

The way i see it is if you are really into your A/V and want the best performance from your kit and you have the money available without the need to sell a kidney or your first born then go for it, what have you got to lose.

regarding some pics i will take some later and try get them online

 

[theo12]

TKratz:

theo12, you make some good points, and I fully agree

Once calibrated you shouldn't adjust the settings. As you said, why calibrate then if you do?

May I ask which LG you are getting?

I am going for the PK350, the price is what I am able to pay and the screen size is what I want.

I asked AEJIM a few weeks back for an update on his set, and his reply only served to confirm my choice. Unfortunately the Panasonics are out of my price range and going for this base model means I will be able to afford to have it calibrated.

 

[theo12]

Thanks again Gavin101

Calibration it is then. I must admit I have the "is it or isn't it worth it" bug, so I will just go for it, nothing to lose.

Look forward to the pics when you get the chance

 

[TKratz]

And that makes perfect sense.
Often it pays of stepping down one model and get it properly calibrated rather than getting the superior set with rubbish settings.

 

[Anonymous]

hmmm out of curiosity how DO i go about uploading images?

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

TKratz,

I for one am always complaining about the picture and sound quality at the cinema. I stopped going a long time ago.

Ronald

 

[theo12]

Gav,

I am not entirely sure how it works but there

is an insert/edit image button in the tool bar when you post. Being a non techie I would not know ow to use it, but it asks for a url. Give it a whirl it may be asking you to point it at the route path the the image file on your computer.

 

[Anonymous]

If only i worked in IT then i would be able to figure it out.....oh wait a minute

Anyway another thing that may interest you Theo12 is a certain guy i know and the ISF calibrator himself is raving about the Oppo, so much so that i need to get one now.

I have been scouring the net and i am sold, and from the ISF guys views on it i am sure it will be a worthy addition to my system....now to sell my 1 month old Panasonic BD85 to make room

 

[theo12]

Gavin101

I have done some "I must be dreaming" research into the Oppo. Apparently the SE version is the one to go for as they have upgraded the analog stuff. However it is about £200 more expensive than the standard model. I have seen the standard version online for around the £600 mark. Also the processor chip in it is supposed to be the top of the line.

Happy hunting, let us know if you get a chance to directly compare this machine against the Panasonic before you sell it. And being cheeky could you let me know what multichannel music sounds like. My Denon has stopped playing SACD's, and unless I can get it going again I will have to do some serious saving to get a new universal player, the Oppo being the holy grail machine at the moment.

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 2457]

gavin101:

If only i worked in IT then i would be able to figure it out.....oh wait a minute

Anyway another thing that may interest you Theo12 is a certain guy i know and the ISF calibrator himself is raving about the Oppo, so much so that i need to get one now.

I have been scouring the net and i am sold, and from the ISF guys views on it i am sure it will be a worthy addition to my system....now to sell my 1 month old Panasonic BD85 to make room

Hi Gavin

Gorgeous looking set up there

I inserted a picture by copying these instructions from Bigboss if you choose to do it they are excellent to follow, here is a link

http://community.whathifi.com/forums/4/334126/ShowThread.aspx

They are on page 4.

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Gel will have a look, also thanks for your reply on the 50V20 review thread

 

[aliEnRIK]

You could have a go at calibrating yourself if you so desire (Assuming the ISF menu is in the normal menu)

I use the EYE ONE sensor myself, and free software (Colourmeter)

Id assume an ISF would cost around 250 quid or more, whilst the meter can be had for around 90 quid

It wouldnt be quite as accurate (Negligible), but Id be willing to bet that no one could tell any difference.

 

[D.J.KRIME]

aliEnRIK:

I use the EYE ONE sensor myself, and free software (Colourmeter)

Is this software better than colorHCFR and if so where do you download it from? and if so does it work with the Spyder as I have been told that the eye one is not suitible for plasma screens.

 

[aliEnRIK]

D.J.KRIME:aliEnRIK:

I use the EYE ONE sensor myself, and free software (Colourmeter)

Is this software better than colorHCFR and if so where do you download it from? and if so does it work with the Spyder as I have been told that the eye one is not suitible for plasma screens.

Far as im aware, eye one works fine with plasmas

And twas early this morning, its the same software